TVMBS 05

Chapter 5

“Ugh…”

Liziana’s body, accustomed to doing nothing but sitting in the imperial palace and handling paperwork every day, was far too weak to endure teleportation magic.

She felt as though everything in her stomach was about to come back up. It was a horrible experience, as if her soul itself were trying to leap out of her body.

Ian caught the dizzy Liziana with his strong, muscular arms.

Even while her mind was still hazy, Liziana looked at Ian with resentment.

‘If it was going to be this dizzying, shouldn’t he have warned me beforehand?’

“Prisoner, we’re here. Come to your senses.”

Liziana barely managed to regain her senses before quickly pulling herself out of Ian’s arms.

She looked around.

They no longer seemed to be somewhere where she could feel the night breeze. Instead, they had moved to a quiet yet chilly place.

Instinctively grabbing onto something beside her for support, Liziana staggered as she held her head and asked,

“Where are we?”

“Here? The place where you’ll be staying, Prisoner.”

No sooner had Ian finished speaking than he snapped his fingers and teleported to the other side.

The support Liziana had been leaning against suddenly disappeared, causing her body to stagger.

Clank!

At the same time, there was a loud sound of massive metal striking against metal.

Like the sound of a prison cell door.

“It’s a safe place.”

Only then did Liziana realize that whatever she had been holding was unusually cold and solid.

The surroundings were strangely quiet, and only a few torches illuminated the space.

“No way…”

A chilling voice pierced her ears.

“You’ll be staying here for a while. Ah, don’t worry. This is a dungeon in my private quarters, so no one will be able to find you.”

Bright red eyes shone clearly in the darkness as they looked down at Liziana.

Only then did Liziana realize the situation she was in.

She grabbed the iron bars, but nothing changed.

‘I knew he was called a mad dog, but I never thought he’d go this far!’

Liziana was certain of it.

‘A dungeon?’

There was a reason he had earned the nickname “Mad Dog.”

Liziana gripped the bars tightly and glared at him.

She pulled on the iron bars with all her strength, but it was useless.

Liziana pressed a hand to her forehead as she looked at the red-eyed man beyond the bars.

Being locked in a prison was certainly bewildering, but she was not afraid.

‘I was going to die anyway. I’ve already died once. What is there left to fear?’

That was why she could not afford to waste the precious opportunity she had gained through regression.

She had nearly lost her life while trying to persuade the man known as the “Mad Dog” of the Tenzel Empire.

But despite taking such a risk, she had safely made it all the way to the enemy nation, the Tenzel Empire.

Ian Rendy Devensia.

Despite his beautiful appearance, he had a rather rough attitude and personality.

Fortunately, Liziana had managed to persuade a man like that and make it this far.

However, he was also a duke of the enemy nation, the Tenzel Empire.

Looking at it from his perspective, it was only natural that he would be suspicious of Liziana.

‘The Tenzel Empire is hostile toward the Avid Empire.’

Besides, what person would not be suspicious when a woman they had never met suddenly asked to be kidnapped and willingly threw herself into their hands as a prisoner?

Liziana calmly raised her head and looked at Ian.

“I find it hard to believe that the only safe place is this dungeon.”

“It’s exactly as I said. You stay here.”

“I see. I’ve heard that security in the Tenzel Empire is very strict. Of course, as a foreigner who is merely here as an exile, I understand that my safety could not be guaranteed if I wandered around the streets. But more importantly…”

Liziana swallowed and met his eyes.

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

“There’s no reason for me to trust you.”

Ian replied coldly.

“As I said, I…”

Even if she repeated that all she wanted was to leave the Avid Empire, there was no reason to think that the man before her would suddenly trust her.

Liziana could not continue and clenched her fists.

‘Even if I tell him, would he believe me? That I regressed and was trying to escape from Raiphin, who would kill me. And…’

Liziana’s eyes twisted with anger.

‘That I want to bring ruin upon Raiphin.’

She let out a deep sigh and turned her gaze back to Ian.

“If you don’t trust me enough to lock me in a prison like this, then what exactly did you see in me that made you bring me here?”

“…You looked desperate.”

Ian tilted his head and quietly studied her face.

“I trusted your desperation.”

Liziana was speechless for a moment.

What kind of expression had she been making when she begged him to kidnap her as a prisoner?

She did not need to hear anything more to understand what he meant.

By taking Liziana, who wanted more than anyone else to leave the Avid Empire, as his hostage, he could use her however he pleased.

Liziana sighed.

“Then let me out first. Right now. I can give you everything you want.”

“Well, your reputation is so terrible that it’s hard to do as you say.”

At his words, Liziana immediately fell silent.

She had not realized that her infamous reputation had spread all the way to the Tenzel Empire.

Damn Raiphin. He really is never useful.

Liziana bit down on her lip as she remembered the things she had done in her previous life because of Raiphin.

“Ha… This is ridiculous. Don’t you need my cooperation?”

“No. This is better.”

Ian gave a faint smile and lightly tapped the iron bars.

“The Tenzel Empire is a rough country. As you said, if a foreigner who is merely an exile wanders around the streets, she could easily lose her life to the guards.”

Ian calmly tapped the bars.

“Right now, this prison is the safest place for you.”

Liziana instinctively realized that he was a man who would not change his mind no matter what she said.

She sighed.

Just then, footsteps approached, followed by a voice calling out to Ian.

“Sir Ian! Your Grace!”

Ian ran a hand through his unruly white hair and spoke in a low, chilling voice.

“Harhin. I believe I’ve told you time and time again to correct that reckless attitude of yours. Should I take this opportunity to correct it myself?”

At those words, Harhin quickly clamped his mouth shut and cautiously approached his master.

Harhin, who stood beside Ian, following his master, met Liziana’s eyes.

He suddenly jumped in surprise and widened his eyes.

“Who is this young lady? I specifically told you that the lady had pink hair and golden eyes!”

“The plan has changed. This…”

Ian paused for a moment, then remembered that she was the woman known as the “Imperial Dog.”

Well, if she was so arrogantly clinging to him, perhaps she was more like…

“This puppy will definitely be much more useful to us than her.”

‘Puppy?’

Harhin looked down at Liziana, whom Ian had just called a puppy, and scratched his head in confusion.

“Sir Ian, you should report to His Majesty first. His Majesty has been waiting for news for some time.”

“Before that, have you still not heard from Nerua?”

“I’m sorry.”

Ian let out a quiet sigh.

He took off his outer garment and lifted it into the air with magic.

The garment floated smoothly through the air before carefully settling over Liziana.

Unexpectedly receiving his coat, Liziana frowned.

“How amusing. You thought I looked desperate, so you brought me here, locked me in a prison, and now you give me your coat because I’m leaning against a cold wall?”

“Your Highness the Crown Princess came to Tenzel after abandoning her own country. What kind of special treatment were you expecting?”

Ian waved his hand dismissively and turned away.

“Who do you think ruined my entire plan?”

“Ha! You’re trying to blame me for this…!”

The sound of Liziana shaking the bars echoed behind him, but Ian showed no intention of changing his mind.

Before leaving the dungeon, Ian looked back once more and glanced at the furious woman.

“I’d appreciate it if you stopped making so much noise and simply accepted your situation.”

He gave a small laugh and left the dungeon.

His pleasant laughter echoed down the corridor.

Silence quickly settled over the dungeon after Ian left.

Liziana leaned against the cold wall.

Even though she had escaped from the Avid Empire, the fatigue had yet to leave her body.

‘I’d appreciate it if you stopped making so much noise and simply accepted your situation.’

Liziana raised her head and looked around.

The mana softly illuminating the walls, the magic books and documents scattered everywhere, and…

The iron bars blocking her way.

There was no doubt about it.

It was an underground dungeon.

As if she had resigned herself to her situation, Liziana shifted into a more comfortable position and fell into thought.

The first person who came to mind was, of course, Raiphin.

“Raiphin must know by now that I’ve disappeared.”

Damn Raiphin. I wish he would get out of my head already.

Even though she tried not to see Raiphin anymore, not to think about him anymore, it was not easy.

In her previous life, he had been the person who led her toward the light from the darkness of the ducal residence.

‘I came here because I wanted you to become my Crown Princess!’

Liziana could still vividly remember Raiphin arriving to see her in his splendid clothes.

When he took her hand and offered her the position of Crown Princess, he had felt like a savior unlike any she had ever known.

Before Raiphin came, Liziana’s marriage had already been arranged with Kin Huzsen, the heir of the Grand Duke of Huzsen, a man widely known for his womanizing.

She had denied it, but it was the reality.

In the end, Liziana accepted her fate.

As the daughter of the Duke of Filorencia, she believed that she had to fulfill her duty by accepting the marriage.

But then the doors of the Filorencia ducal residence opened wide, and Raiphin appeared.

‘Liziana de Filorencia will not go to Kin. She will become my Crown Princess.’

With those words alone, Duke Filorencia immediately abandoned the cold attitude he had maintained for months.

He began smiling whenever he looked at Liziana.

He even asked her,

‘Your father hasn’t done anything wrong, has he?’

He was a selfish man.

A man who saw his only child as a tool and was unworthy of being called a father.

That was how Liziana defined Duke Filorencia in her heart.

Life in the ducal residence, where she had been pushed around according to the Duke’s wishes, had been nothing short of terrible.

That was why Raiphin, who had freed her from the ducal residence, could only appear to Liziana as a savior.

‘This is the ending befitting a villainess!’

He was the man who would later drive a sword through the heart of the woman who had devoted herself to him.

And yet, there had once been a time when simply looking into his warm brown eyes had made her happy.

She had even thought his blue hair was so lovely that she could hardly bear to look away.

‘That was why I could do anything for him without hesitation. But not anymore.’

She still remembered the cold sensation of Raiphin’s sword piercing through her chest.

Liziana clenched her fists tightly.

‘I’ve already come too far.’

Liziana forced herself to let go of those memories.

‘Raiphin, I will never forgive you for driving that sword through my heart.’

Beyond the iron bars, Liziana’s eyes gleamed in the darkness.